A piece of advice for anyone out there who enjoys thai curries and cooks – find yourself a thai restaurant or store with minimal english. Look for curry pastes with the same minimal or no english. Buy and enjoy.

When I was in Chelsea Market a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon Chelsea Thai Wholesale. While it may not have been the least-English speaking Thai takeout and store, the items they had looked pretty authentic. And for 85 cents for a small (tuna fish size) can of curry paste, it was a win-win situation. I picked up red and green curry pastes along with a delicious plate of Pad Thai.

Using a can of coconut milk (light is preferred but I had a brain fart and got the full-fat stuff), the red curry paste, a container of fresh asian stir-fry vegetables from Trader Joe’s (so yummy! onions, peas, broccoli, bell peppers, water chestnuts, fresh, chopped up and ready to go), chicken and some fish sauce and brown sugar, I whipped up a delicious curry.

Chicken? Cut up thighs marinated in a puree of ginger, garlic, cilantro, onion, a seeded jalapeno, soy sauce, ketchup and brown sugar. Sauted it pretty fully cooked after it marinated for a few hours, diced it up some more and then threw it in the curry mixture.

If you like curry and don’t always have the time, money, or patience for fully authentic curry, get thyself to a good thai market and “invest” in curry pastes!